Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992

Part VIIIN.I. The Social Fund

134 Payments out of the social fund.N.I.

[F1(1)There may be made out of the social fund, in accordance with this Part of this Act—

(a)payments of prescribed amounts, whether in respect of prescribed items or otherwise, to meet, in prescribed circumstances, maternity expenses and funeral expenses; and

(b)payments by way of community care grant, crisis loan or budgeting loan to meet other needs in accordance with directions given or guidance issued by the Department.]

(2)Payments may also be made out of that fund, in accordance with this Part of this Act, of a prescribed amount or a number of prescribed amounts to prescribed descriptions of persons, in prescribed circumstances to meet expenses for heating which appear to the Department to have been or to be likely to be incurred in cold weather.

(3)The power to make a payment out of the social fund such as is mentioned in subsection (1)(b) above may be exercised by making a payment to a third party with a view to the third party providing, or arranging for the provision of, goods or services for the applicant.

(4)In this section “prescribed” means specified in or determined in accordance with regulations.

[F2(5)In this Part—

• “budgeting loan” means a loan awarded in circumstances specified in directions issued by the Department for the purpose of defraying an intermittent expense;

• “community care grant” means a grant awarded in circumstances so specified for the purpose of meeting a need for community care;

• “crisis loan” means a loan awarded in circumstances so specified for the purpose of meeting an immediate short term need,

and any reference in this subsection to meeting a need or defraying an expense includes a reference to helping to meet the need or to defray the expense.]

135 Awards by social fund officers.N.I.

[F3(1)Whether a payment mentioned in section 134(1)(b) above is to be awarded, and how much it is to be, shall be determined by an appropriate officer, that is to say, an officer of the Department who, acting under its authority, is exercising functions of the Department in relation to payments so mentioned.]

(2)[F4An appropriate officer] may determine that an award shall be payable in specified instalments at specified times.

F5(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)An award [F6of a crisis loan or a budgeting loan] shall be repayable upon such terms and conditions as before the award is paid the Department notifies to the person by or on behalf of whom the application for it was made.

(5)Payment of an award shall be made to the applicant unless [F7the appropriate officer] determines otherwise.

136 Principles of determination.N.I.

(1)In determining whether to make an award [F8of a community care grant or a crisis loan] to the applicant or the amount or value to be awarded [F9an appropriate officer] shall have regard, subject to subsection (2) below, to all the circumstances of the case and, in particular—

(a)the nature, extent and urgency of the need;

(b)the existence of resources from which the need may be met;

(c)the possibility that some other person or body may wholly or partly meet it;

(d)where the payment is repayable, the likelihood of repayment and the time within which repayment is likely;

(e)any relevant allocation under section 147(1) to (4) of the Administration Act.

[F10(1A)Subject to subsection (2) below, in determining whether to make an award of a budgeting loan to the applicant, or the amount or value to be awarded, an appropriate officer shall have regard to—

(a)such of the applicant’s personal circumstances as are of a description specified in directions issued by the Department; and

(b)the criteria specified in paragraphs (b) to (e) of subsection (1) above,

but where the criterion mentioned in paragraph (a) above would preclude the award of such a loan, the appropriate officer shall have regard instead to such other criterion as may be specified in directions so issued.]

(2)[F11An appropriate officer] shall determine any question in accordance with any general directions issued by the Department and in determining any question shall take account of any general guidance issued by the Department.

(3)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) above, the Department may issue directions under that subsection for the purpose of securing that [F12an appropriate officer or group of appropriate officers] shall not in any specified period make awards of any specified description which in the aggregate exceed the amount, or a specified portion of the amount, allocated to that officer or group of officers under section 147(1) to (4) of the Administration Act for payments under awards of that description in that period.

(4)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) above, the power to issue general directions conferred on the Department by that subsection includes power to direct—

(a)that in circumstances specified in the direction [F13an appropriate officer] shall not determine an application and, without prejudice to the generality of this paragraph, that [F13an appropriate officer] shall not determine an application which is made before the end of a specified period after the making of an application by the same person for a payment such as is mentioned in section 134(1)(b) above to meet the same need and without there having been any relevant change of circumstances since the previous application;

[F14(aa)that in circumstances specified in the direction an application for an award of a community care grant may be treated as an application for an award of a crisis loan, and vice versa;]

(b)that for a category of need specified in the direction [F13an appropriate officer] shall not award less than an amount specified in the direction;

(c)that for a category of need specified in the direction [F13an appropriate officer] shall not award more than an amount so specified;

(d)that payments to meet a category of need specified in the direction shall in all cases or in no case be made by instalments;

F15(e). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(f)that a payment such as is mentioned in section 134(1)(b) above shall only be awarded to a person if either—

(i)he is in receipt of a benefit which is specified in the direction and the circumstances are such as are so specified; or

(ii)in a case where the conditions specified in sub-paragraph (i) above are not satisfied, the circumstances are such as are specified in the direction,

and the power to issue general guidance conferred on the Department by that subsection includes power to give [F16appropriate officers] guidance as to any matter to which directions under that subsection may relate.

(5)In determining a question [F17an appropriate officer]shall take account (subject to any directions or guidance issued by the Department under this section) of any guidance issued by [F18the appropriate officer nominated for his area under Article 36 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998].